Adjustable-compartment metal drawer



July 17. 1928. 1,677,544

v G. C. BRAINARD ET AL ADJUSTABLE COMPARTMENT METAL DRAWER Filed July 12,. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwoemtom a -5:" MICZ, mT/VE6SE6"- I J July 17. 1928.

G. C. BRAINARD ET AL ADJUSTABLE GOMPARTMENT METAL DRAWER Filed July 12, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 'nard J/ZF'k Gozrle W/n/Essas I v V {4- Patented July 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- GEORGE C. BRAINARD, JASON A. FITCH, AND GLENN '1. GOURLEY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE GENERAL FIREPROOFING COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

Application filed July 12, 1926. Serial No. 121,965.

This invention relates to metal furniture, and more particularly to novel means for forming compartments of desired cap-acity in partments of the required arrangement and size. In that connection it is one of the objects of the invention to provide a detachable partition holder which may have partition receiving means at one side and holding or supportingmeans on its opposite sides to cooperate with a suitably apertured drawer part. This part may be the side or end of the drawer or another partition, whereby compartments may be formed in a wide variety of ways.

A special object of the invention is to provide a construction for metal drawers permitting the use of removable and interchangeable metal partitions in a variety of positions and interconnected relations thereby to convert the interior drawer\sp-ace of the metal drawer into the numerous uses required of drawers in retail stores, particularly in drawers of the display type wherein the specimens of the articles are displayed at the front of the drawers through a window therein. I I I Another object of the invention is to provide a novel holder which may be automatically locked in position by the mere act of 5 being put in place, and which is held against accidental detachment when the partitions are withdrawn and also is securely held in an upright position to prevent canting or tilting of the partitions when the compartments are filled.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction which will eliminate rough edges or projections on the inside of the drawer which would have a tendency tocatch or snag articles placed within the drawer.

With the above and other objects in View which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood,

the same consists in the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of i the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a metal drawer, showing our invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a partition plate;

Flgure 5 is a perspective view of our improved form of partition guide;

Figure 6 is a verticalsection through side of a met-a1 drawer and a partition guide, shcwing the same in locked position thereon, an 1 Figure 7 is a vertical section through a side of a metal drawer and a. partition guide, showing the same in unlocked position thereon.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating further the range which may be resorted to in arranging the metal partitions in a drawer, particularly of the display drawer type wherein a front display compartment is provided at the front of the drawer behind a window therein.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying the present invention into effect it is proposed to provide an adjustable compartment construction which permits of making as many compartments as desired, as well as changing their location and shape to suit the needs of each individual drawer. The invention is particularly useful in connection with drawers for retail store fixtures wherein small notions of various kinds are desired to be kept within the same drawer and yet must be kept properly segregated to avoid confusion of the drawer contents and otherwise preserve the stock properly classified. vAlthough the invention is of special utility in the use set forth, nevertheless it will of course be understood that the same is equally applicable to drawers for desks and the like.

The invention essentially includes in its organization a holder member designated generally as A adapted to cooperate with a engaging means.

support or drawer part designated generare suitably located and placed within the' drawer they may form a support or drawer part for other holder members A which in turn receive the ends of other partitions.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a distinctive feature of the invention resides in the provision of a removable and interchangeable partition holder adapted to detachably engage with a drawer part and having means for maintaining a partition in its proper position. The holders A are preferably of strip or bar-like form and are provided at one side with drawer part engaging means and at the other side with partition One way of constructing the holders A is clearly shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings wherein it will be observed that each holder comprises a body portion 3 having a flat surface 4 provided at its upper end with an offset angular por-' tion 5 which constitutes an attaching hook, while an offset keeper lug 6 is formed adjacent the lower end. The opposite side of the body is preferably provided with the rounded inturned flanges 7 which cooperate to provide a partition receiving slot or guide 8.

The drawer sides 11 and ends 2-2 as well as the partitions C are preferably provided with a plurality of paired openings 9 and 10, the said openings being vertically spaced apart a uniform distance to provide for receiving the attaching hook 5 and keeper lug 6 of the holder member A. As will be clear from the drawings the openings 9 and the openings 10 are preferably arranged in horizontal rows and may be laterally spaced in accordance with any predetermined scale to give a suitable range of compartment capacity when the partitions are setup for use.

The partitions C are preferably formed by bending the piece of sheet metal upwards in such a way as to provide the spaced walls 11, the upper edge being formed with a bead portion 12 and the lower edge preferably spaced by a filler strip 13 while the ends 14: are also formed with a flattened bead portion to conveniently enter the guideways 8 of the holders A. Obviously these partitions may be of any desired length, according'to the needs of the particular drawer in which they are to be used, and although a'double wall type of partition is illustrated in the drawings,"nevertheless a single wall type of partition may be used. The double wall type however affords a wider range of adjust ment for additional partitions, and at the same time protects the attaching hooks and keeper lugs in such a way that they do not offer projections or obstructions to the hands or articles stored Within the compartment.

In connection with the upper-openings 9 it will be observed that the same are relatively deep to receive the attaching hook 5, while the keeper. opening 10 is preferably in the form of a narrow slot to receive the lug 6. This arrangement permits of the holder members A being readily attached and detached from the drawer part having the openings 9 andIO. That is to say, assuming that the holder A is in position to receive a partition as showniin Fig. 6 and it is desired to remove the'same, it-will be understood that there is sufficient looseness between the attaching hook and the bottom edge of the opening 9 to permit the member A to be swung outwardly to the dotted line position so that the keeper lug may be released from the opening 10. When the keeper lug is released from the opening the entire holder may be moved upwardly until the hook 5 clears the opening 9 as shown in Fig. 7 whereupon the holder may be lifted out and inserted in a new position if desired. On the other hand when it is desired to relocate a holder the reverse of the operation just described takes place, to wit :the attaching hook 5 is inserted in the upper opening 9 as indicated in Fig. 7 and the entire holder moved downwardly toward the opening 10 until the lug 6 fits therein. The holder is then locked securely in place and can i receive a partition in its guide or slot 8.

The drawer shown in the drawings is preferably provided with a glass front 15, the glass affording an inspection of the compartments formed in the drawer space. As will be observed from Figs. 2, 3 and 8 the holders A may be positioned behind the glass front 15 since the front framework of the drawer is provided with the openings 9 and 10 for receiving the projections on the keeper meniber A.

With the foregoing construction and arrangement it will be apparent that by changing the position of the holders A the partitions C may be set or adjusted in any dei 11 5 sired manner to form compartments of varying capacity and arrangement. In that connection a. feature of the invention resides in the provision of a removable and .interchangeable partition holder which makes the wide ranges of position and location of the partition possible.

. Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the in- I metal drawer including the side and end.

walls of the drawer having through openings therein, a metal part1t1on holder having locking projections for engaging and interlocking with said openings and provided with a partition receiving groove, and a partition member adapted to engage said holder,

said member being provided with through openings to receive the locking projections of other partition holders, the said side and end walls and partitions being formed to house all locking projections'of the partition holders.

3. An adjustable compartment metal drawer construction including the side and end walls of the drawer having upper and lower paired openings arranged in spaced relation, a metal partition holder having oliset projections at one side for engaging with the openings and providedwith a partition receiving groove at its other side, and a par tition member adapted to fit in said holder and also having a plurality of paired openings arranged in spaced relation for receiving additional holders. o

4. An adjustable compartment metal drawer construction including the side and end walls of the drawer having upper and lower paired openin s arranged in spaced relation, a metal partition holder having oilset projections at one side for engaging with the openings and provided with a partition receiving groove at its other side, and a double-walled metallic partition adapted to fit in said groove and having a plurality of paired openings arranged in spaced relation for receiving additional holders.

5, An adjustable compartment metal drawer construction including the sides and ends of the drawer having a plurality of upper and lower paired openings arranged in spaced relation, a transparent member fitted in one of the drawer ends between said paired upper and lower openings, a metallic holder having spaeedoflset members at one side thereof and engaging said openings and having a partition receiving channel at the other side thereof, and metallic partition elements removably fitted in said holders to divide the space behind the transparent member into-a plurality of visible compartments.

6. In an adjustable compartment metal drawer construction, including grooved metallic partition holders each having an offset hook and an offset keeper lug, vertical metallic side walls of the drawer having a series of hook receiving openings arranged adjacent the upper edge of the drawer and a series of keeper lugs receiving openings arranged adjaeent the bottom edge of the 1 drawer, openings in the upper row and lower row constituting a pair of holder locking openings, and a partition member having edge portions for fitting in said grooved holders and also provided with openings for receiving additional holders.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures.

GEORGE o. BRAINARD.

JASON A. FITCH. GLENN T. GoURLEY, 

